AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Reaches New 12-Month High at $185.00

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $185.00 and last traded at $184.44, with a volume of 109684 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AVAV shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of AeroVironment from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $161.00 price target on shares of AeroVironment in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AeroVironment currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.20.

AeroVironment Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.10 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 4.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $154.48 and its 200-day moving average is $135.24.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.30. AeroVironment had a positive return on equity of 13.93% and a negative net margin of 15.14%. The business had revenue of $186.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. AeroVironment’s revenue was up 38.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that AeroVironment, Inc. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.77, for a total transaction of $176,770.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,181,165.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Melissa Ann Brown sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.77, for a total transaction of $176,770.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,339 shares in the company, valued at $2,181,165.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Trace E. Stevenson sold 1,913 shares of AeroVironment stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.00, for a total value of $350,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,310. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AeroVironment

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in AeroVironment during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AeroVironment during the first quarter worth $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of AeroVironment during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in AeroVironment in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in AeroVironment during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. 86.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc designs, develops, produces, delivers, and supports a portfolio of robotic systems and related services for government agencies and businesses in the United States and internationally. It operates through Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS), Tactical Missile System (TMS), Medium Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MUAS), and High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Systems (HAPS) segments.